How often do patients get scans. I think my dad gets them every six months. When is it once a year?

Thanks

Are you talking about follow up scans?
I got PET scans, every 6 months for first year after treatment ended. Yearly for 4 years after that. one more after 6 years. My oncologist told me that unlike breast cancer, head neck cancers, if they come back, usually (99% of the time) appear within 2 years. So six clean years made me good to go.
BTW I was Squamous cell / tonsil source with lymph node involvment, Stage 4,

Thank you

I am coming up on two years. I have a CAT scan every 6 months. My ENT said the same thing that chrisclu's oncologist said. So, I am looking forward to finishing my two years soon.

I have been having them every 4 months since I had two occurences of this stuff within a 4 month time period.

I get one every 3 months since I finished treatment in Sept 09. I was hoping for a stretch but a hotspot was detected this last scan keeping me on the same routine schedule.

My ENT has me get an MRI/CT once a year. I know the radiologist who prepares the written report for the MRI company recommends one every six months but my ENT feels that seeing her every three months for mouth and throat palpitation and exam would alert us if something was happening.
All four of my CCC medical team (RO, MO, ENT & prothodontist)feel that PET scans give too many false positives for base of tongue cancer plus they miss too many recurrences of base of tongue tumors to be reliable. I understand it may be different for cancer on other parts of the tongue.
Charm

The only PET I had was pre Tx. I got MRI's for the first 4 years along with a chest x-ray. Now it's just an annual chest x-ray (if I remember to go and have one). They still do blood work every 6 months and I am on an annual doctor visit followup.

The last visit with the H&N surgeon, in December, he said I was considered "cured" and didn't need to come back.

I also only one pre Tx.

i'm having a ct in the next 3 weeks which is the first since pre-diagnosis scan dec 08. mentioned a couple of small issues i've had which surgeon doesnt think are anything to worry about , as he said with my surgery my body went through so much trauma that infrequent anomolies are to be expected and usually nothing. all that said it will be playing on my mind till i have it then a follow up with him a couple of weeks after.

I didn't have a clean MRI for about a 1 1/2 years post Tx and it revealed other, non cancer stuff as well so don't let a sketchy scan report beat you down. Let the doctor explain it to you and don't try to extrapolate the report yourself. It will drive you nuts and create unneccessary fear.